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If you’ve lived in California for long, you probably recognize the last name Harmer. John Harmer was a long-time state senator and was also Ronald Reagan’s last Lieutenant Governor before he moved on to Washington. But someone you might not know is his son David Harmer.

Harmer is a lawyer/businessman who graduated with honors from Brigham Young University law school and served as counsel on a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee put together by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. After moving to California, he joined the prominent law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, met his wife, and went on to work as legal counsel for many financial companies and state-wide organizations.

Earlier this year Democrat Ellen Tauscher vacated her Congressional seat to accept President Obama’s appointment in the state department. The seat will be filled by a special election on November 3rd. Running for her seat in the heavy-Democrat area are David Harmer, a Republican, and John Garamandi, Democratic Lieutenant Governor of California.

Think about the specifics about this race: a no-name family man is trying to beat out the Lieutenant Governor to represent one of California’s most liberal areas. Done deal; no chance this guy gets in. Or is it such a textbook race?

Overall support for liberals has dwindle since the President assumed office.

The California legislature (majority – Democrats) has recently received a 13% approval rating.

Lt. Gov Garamandi has been all but secret about his tax-and-spend policies through the years.

A special election could keep many Democrats home due to disapproval of a too-liberal candidate.

The election isn’t won yet for Harmer (not by a far shot). He is still trailing by a 41%–34% margin with only two weeks before votes are cast. Yet it seems as if the stars are aligning, the heavens are opening, and all his hard work is keeping him in this race.

The fact he is so close should encourage all conservatives to keep an eye on David Harmer, keep an eye on this race, and keep on eye on California.

If you live in the area, please get involved—make calls, contribute, walk precincts, or spread the word to everyone you know. We need that Republican seat, and we have a very good chance of picking it up.

CNN.com has posted a video highlighting the lives of two Congressional spouses. One is the wife of Republican freshman from Utah Jason Chaffetz. The other is the gay partner of Democrat freshman from Colorado Jared Polis. They compare/contrast how the conservative father of three Chaffetz and the liberal Polis live and work.

At one point in the video, Polis’ partner describes a story in which he tells how he lost his wallet (in it was his Congressional “spouse” card), sought help from Congressional Member Services to obtain a new one, but was told his designation as a “spouse” was a mistake—that his title should have been “designee” as all other gay partners are. Polis’ partner then goes on to point out the discrimination in our nation against gay people.

What’s interesting to note is that Colorado does not allow same sex couples to marry. Even domestic partnerships are limited (marriage is not allowed, common-law marriage is not allowed, but civil unions are allowed). So Polis and his partner are not, in fact, spouses, but are partners. Even Polis’ Wikipedia page calls them “Domestic Partners.” (Polis’ Congressional site and biography mention nothing about his partner.)

Just so we’re clear, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines spouse as “a marriage partner; a husband or wife.” Therefore, it would make sense that only those married couples are spouses. Those with domestic partnerships are partners.

So why is CNN calling him a spouse if he is not? CNN has historically referred to a person based on their legal status rather than their spiritual/personal/marital status. So why the difference now? Now don’t get me wrong, I am not discriminating again gay people. Make them domestic partners and give them rights and freedoms like other Americans. But let’s not call them spouses until they are legally married.

Today while reading through Twitter, I noticed a link to some pictures of the developmental process of a child in a mother’s womb. Before you tell me how gross I am for being interested, just know that science fascinates me. So, I clicked on over and was pleasantly surprised with some of the most clear and accurate pictures I have ever seen.

While scrolling through these photos, it hit me that this child would soon become someone’s son or daughter, niece or nephew, grandson or granddaughter. I couldn’t help but think of my own niece who is 18 months old today (happy half-birthday, Chloe!) Last weekend I spent a few days at my brother and sister in law’s house, and in that time I spent half a day babysitting my niece. We had breakfast together, watched the Backyardigans, colored with water colors (more like Auntie trying to make sure none got on the wood floors), played outside in the dirt, swung in the swing, napped (well, she did), and played with her toys. It was more fun than a day at Disneyland – seriously. She is everything I hoped my niece would be. I can’t imagine my life without Chloe.

Then I imagined what it would be like had my sister in law decided that a child would have been too much of an inconvenience. What if she had decided that rather than accepting the fact of being pregnant, she had made the choice to abort her child, and continue on with married life? What if little Chloe had never been born?

The one thing I will never understand is the thought that someone has the right to abort a child. Just because it is your body, your mistake, and your consequence doesn’t mean you can easily fix it with the killing of your child. And that’s just what it is – murder. Think that’s too harsh a word? Consider this: a child’s heart begins beating 18 days after conception. To stop the beating of that heart would be taking the life of someone against their will – murder.

“What about a woman’s right to choose? Surely she has a say in all this?” Yes, a woman does have a say in the reproductive process. The woman’s choice is whether or not to get pregnant – whether or not to take part in sex. Once she makes the decision to have sex, there is a very real chance she will become pregnant (contraceptives are not 100% effective).

So, in order to put this in perspective, here are a few facts about the development of a baby: *All facts and quotes have been taken from this website.

A baby’s spinal cord can be seen 14 days after conception.

A baby’s heart begins beating 18 days after conception.

A baby’s heart begins pumping blood 21 days after conception.

Brain waves are present in a baby 40 days after conception.

A baby begins developing eyes, ears, and a respiratory system 4 weeks after conception.

By 9-10 weeks, a baby squints, swallows, moves his tongue, and will even make a fist if his palm is stroked.

By 11-12 weeks, a baby is breathing fluid steadily and will continue this until birth.

A baby’s fingernails are present by week 11-12.

A baby’s eyelashes are developed by week 16.

By month 4, a baby’s fingerprints are fully developed.

A baby’s taste buds begin working by 11-12 weeks after conception.

A baby begins having dreams by week 17.

All in all, the embryo that many claim they have rule over is another human being. I believe the account of a Dr. P.E. Rockwell, Director of Anesthesiology at Leonard Hospital in Troy, New York, best sums up my thoughts and feelings on the sanctity of even the newest of human life:

“Eleven years ago, while giving an anesthetic for a ruptured tubal pregnancy (at two months), I was handed what I believed to be the smallest human being ever seen. The embryo sac was intact and transparent. Within the sac was a tiny (one-third inch) human male swimming extremely vigorously in the amniotic fluid, while attached to the wall by the umbilical cord. This tiny human was perfectly developed with long, tapering fingers, feet and toes. It was almost transparent as regards the skin, and the delicate arteries and veins were prominent to the ends of the fingers.

“The baby was extremely alive and swam about the sac approximately one time per second with a natural swimmers stroke. This tiny human did not look at all like the photos and drawings of ‘embryos’ which I have seen, nor did it look like the few embryos I have been able to observe since then, obviously because this one was alive.”

Lately, I’ve begun to sense an increased feeling of animosity in your tones as you address me and my ideas. You call me judgmental, call my views “un-useful”, and even wish for my death (person has since protected their tweets so the “@lgoddard I hope you die…” tweet isn’t accessible). But while you continue to attack me personally, I want you to know where I stand.

Even though we may disagree on issues, I do not hate you. I’ll still wish you a happy birthday, cheer for the same sports team, joke about your follies, enjoy your company, and congratulate your successes. We are, after all, both human beings. You’re not any better than me and I’m not any better than you. We both face life’s ups and downs. We both know joys and heartaches. So I aim to treat you as a fellow human being, not an illogical idiot.

Now, despite what view you may have of me for being a Republican, please put that aside. I know some people in my party have shown you a fanatical, ugly side of partisanship, but rest assured, you won’t get that from me.

I will warn you though that I’m not a compromiser—I’ll stick to my beliefs. I won’t back down from my ideas, but I would expect nothing less from you. The beauty of America is that we can have opposing views and still live peaceably.

So I reach out to you in a civil discussion of ideas, and while you’re not obligated to return the favor, I would appreciate a calm debate rather than hateful remarks. If you want to discuss something, I’m game. But please don’t threaten me to make a point.

Interested in the debate over healthcare? Tired of listening to staged townhalls or screaming protestors? Two Senate doctors, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), have set up their very own Senate Doctors Show. With several years of experience in the medical field, Sens. Coburn and Barrasso are bypassing the confusing media process and have set up their own “townhall” of sorts to interact with citizens and answer questions about health care reform. They take questions via email, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and use their experience to plainly answer the inquiries of citizens.